Search results for: context based coordination

Authors: Harshit Vallecha, Prabha Bhola

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‘Energy for all’, is a global issue of concern for the past many years. Despite the number of technological advancements and innovations, significant numbers of people are living without access to electricity around the world. India, an emerging economy, tops the list of nations having the maximum number of residents living off the grid, thus raising global attention in past few years to provide clean and sustainable energy access solutions to all of its residents. It is evident from developed economies that centralized planning and electrification alone is not sufficient for meeting energy security. Implementation of off-grid and consumer-driven energy models like Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) systems have played a significant role in meeting the national energy demand in developed nations. Cases of DRE systems have been reported in developing countries like India for the past few years. This paper attempts to profile the status of DRE projects in the Indian context with their scope and relevance to ensure universal electrification. Diversified cases of DRE projects, particularly solar, biomass and micro hydro are identified in different Indian states. Critical factors affecting the sustainability of DRE projects are extracted with their interlinkages in the context of developers, beneficiaries and promoters involved in such projects. Socio-techno-economic indicators are identified through similar cases in the context of DRE projects. Exploratory factor analysis is performed to evaluate the critical sustainability factors followed by regression analysis to establish the relationship between the dependent and independent factors. The generated EFA-Regression model provides a basis to develop the sustainability and replicability framework for broader coverage of DRE projects in developing nations in order to attain the goal of universal electrification with least carbon emissions.

Keywords: Climate change, decentralized generation, electricity access, renewable energy.

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Authors: Raluca Iulia Iulian

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The question of interethnic and interreligious conflicts in ex-Yugoslavia receives much attention within the framework of the international context created after 1991 because of the impact of these conflicts on the security and the stability of the region of Balkans and of Europe. This paper focuses on the rationales leading to the declaration of independence by Kosovo according to ethnic and religious criteria and analyzes why these same rationales were not applied in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The approach undertaken aims at comparatively examining the cases of Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, it aims at understanding the political decision making of the international community in the case of Kosovo. Specifically, was this a good political decision for the security and the stability of the region of Balkans, of Europe, or even for global security and stability? This research starts with an overview on the European security framework post 1991, paying particular attention to Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It then presents the theoretical and methodological framework and compares the representative cases. Using the constructivism issue and the comparative methodology, it arrives at the results of the study. An important issue of the paper is the thesis that this event modifies the principles of international law and creates dangerous precedents for regional stability in the Balkans.

Keywords: Interethnic and interreligious conflict, security andstability, superpower.

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Authors: Mijoh A. Gbededo, Kapila Liyanage, Sabuj Mallik

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The emerging approaches to sustainable manufacturing are considered to be solution-oriented with the aim of addressing the environmental, economic and social issues holistically. However, the analysis of the interdependencies amongst the three sustainability dimensions has not been fully captured in the literature. In a recent review of approaches to sustainable manufacturing, two categories of techniques are identified: 1) Sustainable Product Development (SPD), and 2) Sustainability Performance Assessment (SPA) techniques. The challenges of the approaches are not only related to the arguments and misconceptions of the relationships between the techniques and sustainable development but also to the inability to capture and integrate the three sustainability dimensions. This requires a clear definition of some of the approaches and a road-map to the development of a holistic approach that supports sustainability decision-making. In this context, eco-innovation, social impact assessment, and life cycle sustainability analysis play an important role. This paper deployed an integrative approach that enabled amalgamation of sustainable manufacturing approaches and the theories of reciprocity and motivation into a holistic simulation-based impact analysis framework. The findings in this research have the potential to guide sustainability analysts to capture the aspects of the three sustainability dimensions into an analytical model. Additionally, the research findings presented can aid the construction of a holistic simulation model of a sustainable manufacturing and support effective decision-making.

Keywords: Life cycle sustainability analysis, sustainable manufacturing, sustainability performance assessment, sustainable product development.

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Authors: Li Shoutao, Gordon Lee

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Evolutionary robotics is concerned with the design of intelligent systems with life-like properties by means of simulated evolution. Approaches in evolutionary robotics can be categorized according to the control structures that represent the behavior and the parameters of the controller that undergo adaptation. The basic idea is to automatically synthesize behaviors that enable the robot to perform useful tasks in complex environments. The evolutionary algorithm searches through the space of parameterized controllers that map sensory perceptions to control actions, thus realizing a specific robotic behavior. Further, the evolutionary algorithm maintains and improves a population of candidate behaviors by means of selection, recombination and mutation. A fitness function evaluates the performance of the resulting behavior according to the robot-s task or mission. In this paper, the focus is in the use of genetic algorithms to solve a multi-objective optimization problem representing robot behaviors; in particular, the A-Compander Law is employed in selecting the weight of each objective during the optimization process. Results using an adaptive fitness function show that this approach can efficiently react to complex tasks under variable environments.

Keywords: adaptive fuzzy neural inference, evolutionary tuning

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Authors: Ahmed Mansouri, Naoji Matsumoto

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This research is a comparative study of complexity, as a multidimensional concept, in the context of streetscape composition in Algeria and Japan. 80 streetscapes visual arrays have been collected and then presented to 20 participants, with different cultural backgrounds, in order to be categorized and classified according to their degrees of complexity. Three analysis methods have been used in this research: cluster analysis, ranking method and Hayashi Quantification method (Method III). The results showed that complexity, disorder, irregularity and disorganization are often conflicting concepts in the urban context. Algerian daytime streetscapes seem to be balanced, ordered and regular, and Japanese daytime streetscapes seem to be unbalanced, regular and vivid. Variety, richness and irregularity with some aspects of order and organization seem to characterize Algerian night streetscapes. Japanese night streetscapes seem to be more related to balance, regularity, order and organization with some aspects of confusion and ambiguity. Complexity characterized mainly Algerian avenues with green infrastructure. Therefore, for Japanese participants, Japanese traditional night streetscapes were complex. And for foreigners, Algerian and Japanese avenues nightscapes were the most complex visual arrays.

Keywords: Streetscape, Nightscape, Complexity, Visual Array, Affordance, Cluster Analysis, Hayashi Quantification Method.

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Authors: B. Suárez, G. Forman

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Kombucha (a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) produces material capable of acquiring multiple shapes and textures that change significantly under different environment or temperature variations (e.g., when it is exposed to wet conditions), properties that may be explored in the scenic industry. This paper presents an analysis of its specific characteristics, exploring them as a non-conventional material for arts and performance. Costume Design uses surfaces as a powerful way of expression to represent concepts and stories; it may apply the unique features of nano bacterial cellulose (NBC) as assets in this artistic context. A mix of qualitative and quantitative (interventionist) methodology approaches were used such as review of relevant literature to deepen knowledge on the research topic (crossing bibliography from different fields of studies: biology, art, costume design, etc.); as well as descriptive methods: laboratorial experiments, document quantities, observation to identify material properties and possibilities used to express a multiple narrative ideas, concepts and feelings. The results confirmed that NBC is an interactive and versatile material viable to be used in an alternative scenic context; its unique aesthetic and performative qualities, which change in contact to moisture, are resources that can be used to show a visual and poetic impact on stage.

Keywords: Biotechnological materials, contemporary dance, costume design, nano bacterial cellulose, performing arts.

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Authors: Christian Arcos, Marley Vellasco, Abraham Alcaim

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In this paper, we present a wavelet coefficients masking based on Local Binary Patterns (WLBP) approach to enhance the temporal spectra of the wavelet coefficients for speech enhancement. This technique exploits the wavelet denoising scheme, which splits the degraded speech into pyramidal subband components and extracts frequency information without losing temporal information. Speech enhancement in each high-frequency subband is performed by binary labels through the local binary pattern masking that encodes the ratio between the original value of each coefficient and the values of the neighbour coefficients. This approach enhances the high-frequency spectra of the wavelet transform instead of eliminating them through a threshold. A comparative analysis is carried out with conventional speech enhancement algorithms, demonstrating that the proposed technique achieves significant improvements in terms of PESQ, an international recommendation of objective measure for estimating subjective speech quality. Informal listening tests also show that the proposed method in an acoustic context improves the quality of speech, avoiding the annoying musical noise present in other speech enhancement techniques. Experimental results obtained with a DNN based speech recognizer in noisy environments corroborate the superiority of the proposed scheme in the robust speech recognition scenario.

Keywords: Binary labels, local binary patterns, mask, wavelet coefficients, speech enhancement, speech recognition.

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Authors: Julian Pigott

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This paper presents the Language Learning as a Means of Drive Engagement (LLMDE) theory, derived from a grounded theory analysis of interviews with Japanese university students. According to LLMDE theory, language learning can be understood as a means of engaging one or more of four self-fulfillment drives: the drive to expand one’s horizons (perspective drive); the drive to make a success of oneself (status drive); the drive to engage in interaction with others (communication drive); and the drive to obtain intellectual and affective stimulation (entertainment drive). While many theories of learner psychology focus on conscious agency, LLMDE theory addresses the role of the unconscious. In addition, supplementary thematic analysis of the data revealed the role of context in mediating drive engagement. Unexpected memorable events, for example, play a key role in instigating and, indirectly, in regulating learning, as do institutional and cultural contexts. Given the apparent importance of such factors beyond the immediate control of the learner, and given the pervasive role of habit and drives, it is argued that the concept of motivation merits theoretical reappraisal. Rather than an underlying force determining language learning success or failure, it can be understood to emerge sporadically in consciousness to promote behavioral change, or to protect habitual behavior from disruption.

Keywords: Drives, grounded theory, motivation, significant events.

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Authors: G. Reinhart, S. Schindler

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Due to dynamic evolution, the ability of a manufacturing technology to produce a special product is changing. Therefore, it is essential to monitor the established techniques and processes to detect whether a company-s production will fit future circumstances. Concerning the manufacturing technology planning process, companies must decide when to change to a new technology for maintaining and increasing competitive advantages. In this context, the maturity assessment of the focused technologies is crucial. This article presents an approach for defining the maturity of a manufacturing technology from a strategic point of view. The concept is based on the approach of technology readiness level (TRL) according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), but also includes dynamic changes. Therefore, the model takes into account the concept of the technology life cycle. Furthermore, it enables a company to estimate the ideal date for implementation of a new manufacturing technology.

Keywords: Maturity Assessment, Manufacturing Technology Planning, Technology Life Cycle, Technology Readiness Level.

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Authors: Antti Pirhonen, Minna Silvennoinen

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The only relevant basis for the design of an educational application are objectives of learning for the content area. This study analyses the process in which the real – not only the formal – objectives could work as the starting point for the construction of an educational game. The application context is the education of perioperative nursing. The process is based on the panel discussions of nursing teachers. In the panels, the teachers elaborated the objectives. The transcribed discussions were analysed in terms of the conceptions of learning and teaching of perioperative nursing. The outcome of the study is first the elaborated objectives, which will be used in the implementation of an educational game for the needs of pre-, intra and post-operative nursing skills learning. Second, the study shows that different views of learning are necessary to be understood in order to design an appropriate educational application.

Keywords: Perioperative nursing, conceptions of learning, educational applications.

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Authors: Ana Paula Melchiors Stahlschmidt

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This paper discusses the role of music as a ludic activity and constituent element of voice in the construction and consolidation of the relationship of the baby and his/her mother or caretaker, evaluating its implications in his/her psychic structure and constitution as a subject. The work was based on the research developed as part of the author’s doctoral activities carried out from her insertion in a project of the Music Department of Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS, which objective was the development of musical activities with groups of babies from 0 to 24 months old and their caretakers. Observations, video recordings of the meetings, audio testemonies, and evaluation tools applied to group participants were used as instruments for this research. Information was collected on the participation of 195 babies, among which 8 were more focused on through interviews with their mothers or caretakers. These interviews were analyzed based on the referential of French Discourse Analysis, Psychoanalysis, Psychology of Development and Musical Education. The results of the research were complemented by other posterior experiences that the author developed with similar groups, in a context of a private clinic. The information collected allowed the observation of the ludic and structural functions of musical activities, when developed in a structured environment, as well as the importance of the musicality of the mother’s voice to the psychical structuring of the baby, allowing his/her insertion in the language and his/her constitution as a subject.

Keywords: Music and babies, maternal voice, Psychoanalysis and music, Psychology and music.

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Authors: Mandhapati P. Raju, Siddhartha Khaitan

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In-core memory requirement is a bottleneck in solving large three dimensional Navier-Stokes finite element problem formulations using sparse direct solvers. Out-of-core solution strategy is a viable alternative to reduce the in-core memory requirements while solving large scale problems. This study evaluates the performance of various out-of-core sequential solvers based on multifrontal or supernodal techniques in the context of finite element formulations for three dimensional problems on a Windows platform. Here three different solvers, HSL_MA78, MUMPS and PARDISO are compared. The performance of these solvers is evaluated on a 64-bit machine with 16GB RAM for finite element formulation of flow through a rectangular channel. It is observed that using out-of-core PARDISO solver, relatively large problems can be solved. The implementation of Newton and modified Newton's iteration is also discussed.

Keywords: Out-of-core, PARDISO, MUMPS, Newton.

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Authors: S. Housseno, A. Simonet, M. Simonet

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Semantic query optimization consists in restricting the search space in order to reduce the set of objects of interest for a query. This paper presents an indexing method based on UB-trees and a static analysis of the constraints associated to the views of the database and to any constraint expressed on attributes. The result of the static analysis is a partitioning of the object space into disjoint blocks. Through Space Filling Curve (SFC) techniques, each fragment (block) of the partition is assigned a unique identifier, enabling the efficient indexing of fragments by UB-trees. The search space corresponding to a range query is restricted to a subset of the blocks of the partition. This approach has been developed in the context of a KB-DBMS but it can be applied to any relational system.

Keywords: Index, Range query, UB-tree, Space Filling Curve, Query optimization, Views, Database, Integrity Constraint, Classification.

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Authors: Paraskevi Theodorou, Apostolos Meliones

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In the context of the development process of two assistive navigation mobile apps for blind and visually impaired people (BVI) an extensive qualitative analysis of the requirements of potential users has been conducted. The analysis was based on interviews with BVIs and aimed to elicit not only their needs with respect to autonomous navigation but also their preferences on specific features of the apps under development. The elicited requirements were structured into four main categories, namely, requirements concerning the capabilities, functionality and usability of the apps, as well as compatibility requirements with respect to other apps and services. The main categories were then further divided into nine sub-categories. This classification, along with its content, aims to become a useful tool for the researcher or the developer who is involved in the development of digital services for BVI.

Keywords: Accessibility, assistive mobile apps, blind and visually impaired people, user requirements analysis.

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Authors: Salim Ouchtati, Jean Sequeira, Mouldi Bedda

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In the context of the handwriting recognition, we propose an off line system for the recognition of the Arabic handwritten words of the Algerian departments. The study is based mainly on the evaluation of neural network performances, trained with the gradient back propagation algorithm. The used parameters to form the input vector of the neural network are extracted on the binary images of the handwritten word by several methods. The Distribution parameters, the centered moments of the different projections of the different segments, the centered moments of the word image coding according to the directions of Freeman, and the Barr features applied binary image of the word and on its different segments. The classification is achieved by a multi layers perceptron. A detailed experiment is carried and satisfactory recognition results are reported.

Keywords: Handwritten word recognition, neural networks, image processing, pattern recognition, features extraction.

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Authors: Hanaa Farouk Saleh

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The main purposes of this study are to develop a scale that reflects emerging theoretical understandings of new media credibility, based on the evolution of credibility studies in western researches, identification of the determinants of credibility in the media and its components by comparing traditional and new media credibility scales and building accumulative scale to test new media credibility. This approach was built on western researches using conceptualizations of media credibility, which focuses on four principal components: Source (journalist), message (article), medium (newspaper, radio, TV, web, etc.), and organization (owner of the medium), and adding user and cultural context as key components to assess new media credibility in particular. This study’s value lies in its contribution to the conceptualization and development of new media credibility through the creation of a theoretical measurement tool. Future studies should explore this scale to test new media credibility, which represents a promising new approach in the efforts to define and measure credibility of all media types.

Keywords: Credibility scale, media credibility components, new media credibility scale, scale development.

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Authors: E. T. L. Cöuras Ford, V. A. C. Vale, J. U. L. Mendes, R. M. Nascimento

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The great majority of the applications of thermal isolation in the strip of drops and averages temperatures (up to 200ºC), it is made of materials aggressive nature, such an as glass wool, rock wool, polystyrene, EPS among others. Such materials, in spite of the effectiveness in the retention of the flow of heat, possess considerable cost and when discarded they are long years to be to decompose. In that context, trying to adapt the world politics the about of the preservation of the environment, a study began with intention of developing a material composite, with properties of thermal, originating from insulating industrial residues. In this research, the behavior of the composite was analyzed, as submitted the fire. For this, the reaction rehearsals were accomplished to the fire for the composites 2:1; 1:1; 1:2 and for the Latex, based in the "con" experiment in agreement with the norm ASTM - E 1334 - 90. As consequence, in function of the answers of the system was possible to be observed to the acting of each mixture proportion.

Keywords: Composite, Latex, Reaction to the fire.

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Authors: G. Arslan, S. Kivrak

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Achieving success is a highly critical issue for the companies to survive in a competitive business environment. The construction industry is also an area where there is strong competition due to a large number of construction contractors. There have been many factors such as qualified employees, quality workmanship and financial management that can lead to company success in the construction industry. The aim of this study was to investigate the critical factors leading to construction company success. Within this context, a survey was carried out among 40 Turkish construction companies which are located in the Northwest region of Turkey. In this survey, top-level managers and owners of the companies were interviewed. The interviews took place over a five month period between January and May 2007. Finally, the ranking of the critical success factors has been determined by using the Simple Multi Attribute Rating Technique (SMART). Based on the results, business management, financial conditions and owner/manager characteristics were determined as the most important factors to company success.

Keywords: Company success, construction, organization, success factors.

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Authors: Joanna Stawska

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The main objective of this article is to examine the impact of interest rates on investments in Poland in the context of financial crisis. The paper also investigates the dependence of bank loans to enterprises on interbank market rates. The article studies the impact of interbank market rate on the level of investments in Poland. Besides, this article focuses on the research of the correlation between the level of corporate loans and the amount of investments in Poland in order to determine the indirect impact of central bank interest rates through the transmission mechanism of monetary policy on the real economy. To achieve the objective we have used econometric and statistical research methods like: econometric model and Pearson correlation coefficient. This analysis suggests that the central bank reference rate inversely proportionally affects the level of investments in Poland and this dependence is moderate. This is also important issue because it is related to preparing of Poland to accession to euro area. The research is important from both theoretical and empirical points of view. The formulated conclusions and recommendations determine the practical significance of the paper which may be used in the decision making process of monetary and economic authorities of the country.

Keywords: Central bank, financial crisis, interest rate, investments.

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Authors: G.P. Nguyen, H.J. Andersen

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Building intelligent traffic guide systems has been an interesting subject recently. A good system should be able to observe all important visual information to be able to analyze the context of the scene. To do so, signs in general, and traffic signs in particular, are usually taken into account as they contain rich information to these systems. Therefore, many researchers have put an effort on sign recognition field. Sign localization or sign detection is the most important step in the sign recognition process. This step filters out non informative area in the scene, and locates candidates in later steps. In this paper, we apply a new approach in detecting sign locations using a new color invariant model. Experiments are carried out with different datasets introduced in other works where authors claimed the difficulty in detecting signs under unfavorable imaging conditions. Our method is simple, fast and most importantly it gives a high detection rate in locating signs.

Keywords: Sign localization, color-based segmentation.

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Authors: Ravihansa Rajapakse, Malshika Dias, Kanishka Weerasekara, Anuja Dharmaratne, Prasad Wimalaratne

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In this paper we discuss a set of guidelines which could be adapted when designing an audio user interface for the visually impaired. It is based on an audio environment that is focused on audio positioning. Unlike current applications which only interpret Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the visually impaired, this particular audio environment bypasses GUI to provide a direct auditory output. It presents the capability of two dimensional (2D) navigation on audio interfaces. This paper highlights the significance of a 2D audio environment with spatial information in the context of the visually impaired. A thorough usability study has been conducted to prove the applicability of proposed design guidelines for these auditory interfaces. While proving these guidelines, previously unearthed design aspects have been revealed in this study.

Keywords: Human Computer Interaction, Audio User Interfaces, 2D Audio Environment, Visually Impaired Users

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Authors: Indiramma M., K. R. Anandakumar

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Trust management and Reputation models are becoming integral part of Internet based applications such as CSCW, E-commerce and Grid Computing. Also the trust dimension is a significant social structure and key to social relations within a collaborative community. Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) is a difficult task in the context of distributed environment (information across different geographical locations) and multidisciplinary decisions are involved such as Virtual Organization (VO). To aid team decision making in VO, Decision Support System and social network analysis approaches are integrated. In such situations social learning helps an organization in terms of relationship, team formation, partner selection etc. In this paper we focus on trust learning. Trust learning is an important activity in terms of information exchange, negotiation, collaboration and trust assessment for cooperation among virtual team members. In this paper we have proposed a reinforcement learning which enhances the trust decision making capability of interacting agents during collaboration in problem solving activity. Trust computational model with learning that we present is adapted for best alternate selection of new project in the organization. We verify our model in a multi-agent simulation where the agents in the community learn to identify trustworthy members, inconsistent behavior and conflicting behavior of agents.

Keywords: Collaborative Decision making, Trust, Multi Agent System (MAS), Bayesian Network, Reinforcement Learning.

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Authors: Esra E. Aleisa, Li Lin

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Complex engineering design problems consist of numerous factors of varying criticalities. Considering fundamental features of design and inferior details alike will result in an extensive waste of time and effort. Design parameters should be introduced gradually as appropriate based on their significance relevant to the problem context. This motivates the representation of design parameters at multiple levels of an abstraction hierarchy. However, developing abstraction hierarchies is an area that is not well understood. Our research proposes a novel hierarchical abstraction methodology to plan effective engineering designs and processes. It provides a theoretically sound foundation to represent, abstract and stratify engineering design parameters and tasks according to causality and criticality. The methodology creates abstraction hierarchies in a recursive and bottom-up approach that guarantees no backtracking across any of the abstraction levels. The methodology consists of three main phases, representation, abstraction, and layering to multiple hierarchical levels. The effectiveness of the developed methodology is demonstrated by a design problem.

Keywords: Hierarchies, Abstraction, Loop-free, Engineering Design

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Authors: Yi-Chun Chang, Jian-Wei Li

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Web-based cooperative learning focuses on (1) the interaction and the collaboration of community members, and (2) the sharing and the distribution of knowledge and expertise by network technology to enhance learning performance. Numerous research literatures related to web-based cooperative learning have demonstrated that cooperative scripts have a positive impact to specify, sequence, and assign cooperative learning activities. Besides, literatures have indicated that role-play in web-based cooperative learning environments enhances two or more students to work together toward the completion of a common goal. Since students generally do not know each other and they lack the face-to-face contact that is necessary for the negotiation of assigning group roles in web-based cooperative learning environments, this paper intends to further extend the application of genetic algorithm (GA) and propose a GA-based algorithm to tackle the problem of role assignment in web-based cooperative learning environments, which not only saves communication costs but also reduces conflict between group members in negotiating role assignments.

Keywords: genetic algorithm (GA), role assignment, role-play; web-based cooperative learning.

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Authors: Shyam Sunder Kawan

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Museums are enclosed buildings encompassing and displaying creative artworks, artefacts and discoveries for people’s knowledge and observation. In the context of Nepal, museums and exhibition areas are either adaptive to small gallery spaces in residences or ‘neo-classical palatial complexes’ that evolved during the 19th century. This study accepts the sparse occurrence of a diverse range of artworks and expressions in the country's complex cultural manifestations within vivid ethnic groups. This study explores the immense potential of one such prevalence beyond the delimitation of physical boundaries. Taking Bhaktapur World Heritage Site as a case, the study perpetuates its investigation into real-time life activities that this city and its cultural landscapes ensemble. Seeking the ‘musealization’ as an urban process to induce museums into the city precinct, this study anticipates art-space into urban spaces to offer a limitless experience for this contemporary world. Unveiling art as an experiential component, this study aims in conceptualizing a living heritage as an infinite resource for museum interpretation beyond just educational institute purposes.

Keywords: Living museum, site museum, musealization, contemporary arts, cultural heritage, historic cities.

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Authors: H. H. Huynh, J. Meunier, J.Sequeira, M.Daniel

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In this paper, the detection and tracking of face, mouth, hands and medication bottles in the context of medication intake monitoring with a camera is presented. This is aimed at recognizing medication intake for elderly in their home setting to avoid an inappropriate use. Background subtraction is used to isolate moving objects, and then, skin and bottle segmentations are done in the RGB normalized color space. We use a minimum displacement distance criterion to track skin color regions and the R/G ratio to detect the mouth. The color-labeled medication bottles are simply tracked based on the color space distance to their mean color vector. For the recognition of medication intake, we propose a three-level hierarchal approach, which uses activity-patterns to recognize the normal medication intake activity. The proposed method was tested with three persons, with different medication intake scenarios, and gave an overall precision of over 98%.

Keywords: Activity recognition, background subtraction, tracking, medication intake, video surveillance

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Authors: M. Ardelean, F. Manea, A. Pop, J. Schoonman

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The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment and especially in water has gained increasing attention. They are included in emerging class of pollutants, and for most of them, legal limits have not been set-up due to their impact on human health and ecosystem was not determined and/or there is not the advanced analytical method for their quantification. In this context, the development of various advanced analytical methods for the quantification of pharmaceuticals in water is required. The electrochemical methods are known to exhibit the great potential for high-performance analytical methods but their performance is in direct relation to the electrode material and the operating techniques. In this study, two types of carbon-based electrodes materials, i.e., boron-doped diamond (BDD) and carbon nanofiber (CNF)-epoxy composite electrodes have been investigated through voltammetric techniques for the detection of naproxen in water. The comparative electrochemical behavior of naproxen (NPX) on both BDD and CNF electrodes was studied by cyclic voltammetry, and the well-defined peak corresponding to NPX oxidation was found for each electrode. NPX oxidation occurred on BDD electrode at the potential value of about +1.4 V/SCE (saturated calomel electrode) and at about +1.2 V/SCE for CNF electrode. The sensitivities for NPX detection were similar for both carbon-based electrode and thus, CNF electrode exhibited superiority in relation to the detection potential. Differential-pulsed voltammetry (DPV) and square-wave voltammetry (SWV) techniques were exploited to improve the electroanalytical performance for the NPX detection, and the best results related to the sensitivity of 9.959 µA·µM^-1 were achieved using DPV. In addition, the simultaneous detection of NPX and fluoxetine -a very common antidepressive drug, also present in water, was studied using CNF electrode and very good results were obtained. The detection potential values that allowed a good separation of the detection signals together with the good sensitivities were appropriate for the simultaneous detection of both tested pharmaceuticals. These results reclaim CNF electrode as a valuable tool for the individual/simultaneous detection of pharmaceuticals in water.

Keywords: Boron-doped diamond electrode, carbon nanofiber-epoxy composite electrode, emerging pollutants, pharmaceuticals.

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Authors: Konstantinos C. Kartsakalis, Angeliki Skoura, Vasileios Megalooikonomou

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The fuzzy composition of objects depicted in images acquired through MR imaging or the use of bio-scanners has often been a point of controversy for field experts attempting to effectively delineate between the visualized objects. Modern approaches in medical image segmentation tend to consider fuzziness as a characteristic and inherent feature of the depicted object, instead of an undesirable trait. In this paper, a novel technique for efficient image retrieval in the context of images in which segmented objects are either crisp or fuzzily bounded is presented. Moreover, the proposed method is applied in the case of multiple, even conflicting, segmentations from field experts. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the suggested method in retrieving similar objects from the aforementioned categories while taking into account the fuzzy nature of the depicted data.

Keywords: Fuzzy Object, Fuzzy Image Segmentation, Motion Descriptors, MRI Imaging, Object-Based Image Retrieval.

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Authors: Bianca A. Szasz, Keiichi Okuyama

Abstract:

As the human race will continue to explore the space by creating new space transportation means and sending them to other planets, the enhance of atmospheric reentry study is crucial. In this context, an analysis of mass recession rate of ablative materials for thermal shields of reentry spacecrafts is important to be carried out. The paper describes a new estimation method for calculating the mass recession of an ablator system made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic materials. This method is based on Arrhenius equation for low temperatures and, for high temperatures, on a theory applied for the recession phenomenon of carbon fiber reinforced plastic materials, theory which takes into account the presence of the resin inside the materials. The space mission of USERS spacecraft is considered as a case study.

Keywords: Ablator system, mass recession, spacecraft, atmospheric reentry.

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Authors: Nouha Mhimdi, Wahiba Ben Abdessalem Karaa, Henda Ben Ghezala

Abstract:

Many methods are used to collect data like questionnaires, surveys, focus group interviews. Or the collection of poor-quality data resulting, for example, from poorly designed questionnaires, the absence of good translators or interpreters, and the incorrect recording of data allow conclusions to be drawn that are not supported by the data or to focus only on the average effect of the program or policy. There are several solutions to avoid or minimize the most frequent errors, including obtaining expert advice on the design or adaptation of data collection instruments; or use technologies allowing better "anonymity" in the responses. In this context, and to overcome the aforementioned problems, we suggest in this paper an approach to achieve the collection of relevant data, by carrying out a large-scale questionnaire-based survey. We have been able to collect good quality, consistent and practical data on hospital emergencies to improve emergency services in hospitals, especially in the case of epidemics or pandemics.

Keywords: Data collection, survey, database, data analysis, hospital emergencies.

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